Bayside Council is a
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is located in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, around part of
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
, to south of the
CBD. It includes suburbs of South Sydney and the St George area separated by the
Cooks River
The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The course of the long urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various deve ...
. It comprises an area of and as at the had a population of .
The Council was formed on 9 September 2016 from the merger of the
City of Botany Bay
The City of Botany Bay was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the eastern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompassed the suburbs to the north of Botany Bay, such as Botany, New South ...
and the
City of Rockdale
The City of Rockdale was a local government area in southern and St George regions of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre was located south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botan ...
.
The Council's
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
is Christina Curry, of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
, elected by the Council on 5 January 2022.
Suburbs and localities in the local government area
Suburbs in the Bayside Council area are:
Bayside Council also manages and maintains the following localities:
History
Early local government history
Rockdale
The City of Rockdale was originally proclaimed as the "Municipal District of West Botany" on 13 January 1871. From 1872, Council met in the first Council Chambers, a small purpose-built stone building on the western side of Rocky Point Road, Arncliffe. It continued in use until 11 December 1888, when a new
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
was opened on the corner of Rocky Point Road and Bryant Street, Rockdale. By the time the neighbouring Boroughs of Botany and
North Botany (Mascot from 1911) were proclaimed on 29 March 1888, it was clear that a name change was desirable. On 17 May 1888 the
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...
passed the ''Rockdale Municipality Naming Act'' (No.33, 1888), and West Botany became the "Municipal District of Rockdale". The 1887 Town Hall was replaced by the current Rockdale Town Hall in 1940, and was designed by Rockdale architect
Douglas Gardiner
Douglas Babbington Gardiner (26 February 1905 – 23 May 2001) was an Australian architect active in the mid 20th century as a partner of Bates Smart & McCutcheon.Goad, P. ''Bates Smart: 150 years of Australian Architecture'' Thames & Hudson Au ...
. Under the ''
Local Government (Areas) Act 1948'', the
Municipality of Bexley, which was located immediately to the West and had separated from
Hurstville
Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
in 1900, became the First Ward of Rockdale Municipality.
Rockdale was declared a city in 1995 as the "City of Rockdale".
Botany
The City of Botany Bay was first proclaimed on 29 March 1888 as the "Borough of Botany", and met from 1899 to 2016 in the Botany Town Hall. The northern section of the City of Botany Bay was first incorporated as the "Borough of North Botany" on 29 March 1888. From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the ''Local Government Act, 1906'', the councils were renamed as the "Municipality of North Botany" and the "Municipality of Botany". The Municipality of North Botany was renamed as the "
Municipality of Mascot
The Municipality of Mascot was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the inner south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of North Botany on 29 March 1888 and was renamed to the ...
" on 31 October 1911. Under the ''Local Government (Areas) Act 1948'', the Municipality of Mascot was amalgamated into Botany, within a reconstituted Municipality of Botany. Botany remained a municipality until 11 May 1996, when it was proclaimed the "City of Botany Bay".
Establishment of Bayside Council
A
2015 review of local government boundaries by the
NSW Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the
City of Botany Bay
The City of Botany Bay was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the eastern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area encompassed the suburbs to the north of Botany Bay, such as Botany, New South ...
amalgamate with the
City of Rockdale
The City of Rockdale was a local government area in southern and St George regions of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The city centre was located south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shores of Botan ...
to form a new Council with an area of and support a population of approximately .
There was significant community opposition to the merger from within both communities. In Botany Bay, residents were given the chance to have their say in a community poll which was held on 27 February 2016. Ultimately 97.8 per cent of Botany Bay residents voted 'no' when asked the question 'Do you agree that the City of Botany Bay should merge with Rockdale City Council?'. Rockdale City Council indicated their preference to merge with the
City of Kogarah and the
City of Hurstville
The Hurstville City Council was a local government area in the St George and southern region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The city seat of Hurstville is located southwest of Sydney and west of Botany Bay. Hurstville was incorpor ...
, forming a single "St George Council". Botany Bay also attempted to seek a compromise by proposing to merge with the
City of Randwick and parts of the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
.
With the proclamation of the majority of Council amalgamations on 12 May 2016, the City of Botany Bay Council appealed the decision in the
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...
, thereby delaying the proposed amalgamation until a decision was made by the Court. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in early September 2016, and the Minister for Local Government,
Paul Toole
Paul Lawrence Toole (born 2 August 1970), an Australian politician, is the Deputy Premier and leader of the New South Wales Nationals since October 2021. Toole is the Minister for Regional New South Wales in the second Berejiklian and Perrot ...
, moved quickly to proclaim the formation of Bayside Council on 9 September 2016, with the former Administrator of
Central Darling Shire
Central Darling Shire is a local government area in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Barrier Highway. Central Darling Shire was constituted in 1959 and at , it is the largest incorporated ...
, Greg Wright, appointed as the
Administrator.
[ On 9 September 2017, the first Council consisting of fifteen Councillors across 5 wards was elected, and the former Mayor of Rockdale, Bill Saravinovski, was elected as the first Mayor on 27 September.]
The early period of the council was punctuated by revelations of the extent of issues inherited from the former Botany Bay Council, including an antiquated vehicle fleet costing millions of dollars to replace, and the legacy of ICAC investigations that uncovered the significant misappropriation of funds and fraud by former Botany Bay Council employees, which had led to 12 individuals being recommended for prosecution. The first Mayor of Bayside Council, Bill Saravinovski, in particular noted that, "The legacy of the misappropriations and costs of remediation result din a net fund deficit of $17 million, placing Bayside Council at a significant disadvantage".
Demographics
At the , there were people in the Bayside local government area; of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
made up 1.0 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
age of people in Bayside Council was 35 years; slightly lower than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.5 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 61.6 per cent were married and 7.1 per cent were either divorced or separated.
At the 2016 census, the proportion of residents in the Bayside local government area who stated their ancestry
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
as Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
or Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
approached 29 per cent of all residents. In excess of 51 per cent of all residents in Bayside Council nominated a religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
affiliation with Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
at the 2016 census, which was below the national average of 57.7 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Bayside local government area had a lower than average proportion (20.7 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2 per cent); and a lower proportion (41.1 per cent) where English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7 per cent).
Council
Bayside Council has fifteen councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s, with three councillors elected in each of five wards by a preferential voting system. On 9 September 2017 the first council was elected.[ The mayor is appointed biennially and deputy mayor annually by the councillors at the first meeting of the Council.]
Current composition
The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the Council, by order of election, is as follows:
Ward names
Owing to a perceived confusion over the ward names, particularly from members of the public not able to distinguish between their ward and their suburb, at its meeting on 14 November 2018, Bayside Council voted to exhibit changes to the ward names: "Port Botany Ward" to ''Ward 1'', "Mascot Ward" to ''Ward 2'', "Rockdale Ward" to ''Ward 3'', "Bexley Ward" to ''Ward 4'', and "Botany Bay Ward" to ''Ward 5''. At the subsequent meeting on 13 February 2019, Bayside Council voted to adopt these changes, despite the public consultation resulting in 69% of 83 submissions not supporting the change of ward names to numbers.
Council logo
In August 2017, Bayside Council selected its new logo via a public competition and vote, with Mascot resident, Ray Kurniawan's design winning. The logo depicts a sailing boat above water, with Kurniawan describing its symbolism: "The concept to use the boat came from the idea that to move forward in a boat everyone has to row together. Bayside is a new community and to move forward everyone needs to work together".
See also
* Local government areas of New South Wales
This is a list of local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, sorted by region. As of there were 128 local government areas in New South Wales, listed below in alphabetical order by region. There is also the Unincorporated Far West Regi ...
References
External links
Bayside Council
{{coord missing, New South Wales
2016 establishments in Australia
Botany Bay
Local government areas in Sydney